He Carried Me on Wings and Brought Me

“Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’” (Exodus 19:3-6)

The Israelites lived in exile in Egypt for 430 years, and their population kept increasing. Pharaoh and the Egyptians were concerned that the Israelites would become too powerful and threaten the security of the country, so they began to systematically oppress them. In their suffering, the Israelites cried out to God, and the Lord listened to them. He remembered His promise to their ancestors, and so sent Moses to deliver His people from the land where they were enslaved. At that time, Israel was under the heavy hand of Pharaoh, and was forced to perform hard labour for the Egyptians as their servants. Pharaoh was hard-hearted and repeatedly refused to let the Israelites leave the country. So God sent 10 plagues upon the Egyptians, and step by step through these plagues, manifested His imposing judgment on the Egyptians and His merciful salvation for the Israelites. To the Israelites, those 10 plagues were 10 miracles that allowed them to see with their own eyes and experience for themselves the mighty power of God and the grace of salvation.

God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, just like an eagle spreading its wings to carry the eaglet and bring it to a safe place. The purpose of the Lord’s salvation was to make the Israelites His treasured possession out of all nations, and He would rule over them as their King (Exodus 15:18). They would turn back to God as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, be separate from all other peoples, obey their covenant with Him, and serve Him faithfully in the promised land of Canaan. Therefore, the awesome act of the immigration of more than a million Israelites from Egypt was not just to manifest the salvation of God, but also to bring about the people’s service to God and as a testimony to the Gentiles.

Like the Israelites, we too had been under the oppression of sin and transgressions, followed the trends of this age, served many idols and the king of the world, and laboured under the yoke of iniquity. Thank God! He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to find and save us, releasing us who were afraid of death and were slaves to sin. The Holy Father sacrificed his own Son in order to save us from iniquity. Christ carried us just like an eagle on its wings, and brought us back to God from sin, death, and the authority of Satan, so that we could enjoy in Him the freedom as children of God.

Among us today there are those who had immigrated to Canada, had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, came to know God and believed in Jesus Christ, and received the grace of salvation. You were able to savor the care and protection of God during the process of your immigration. The Lord is truly like an eagle that carried you and your family on its wings and brought you to Canada to enjoy the fine life here. There may be others who experienced the hardships and struggles of life. If it were not for the guidance and providence of God, you could never become a child of God in your whole life. Therefore, once you have tasted the many blessings of the Lord, please do not forget the purpose for which God saved you, and that is for you to obey the teachings of the Bible, submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, live a life of holiness on earth, be consecrated from people of the world, and bear witness for Jesus Christ faithfully so that glory may be returned to God.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

By: Daniel To